1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle managing systems or vehicle rental systems, and to vehicle managing methods. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vehicle managing system or a vehicle rental system in which use of a vehicle is shared by a plurality of users and which is suitable for ensuring efficiency in the use of the vehicle by the users, and relates to a vehicle managing method used for the vehicle managing systems or the vehicle rental systems.
2. Description of Related Art
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 8-44801, a technique is disclosed which relates to a shared vehicle managing system in which a communication means is mounted on every one of a plurality of vehicles, which are parked in a parking space (called a port), and the vehicles are managed via a control center based on information which is sent via the communication means so that a plurality of users can share the use of the vehicles parked in the port. The shared vehicle managing system described in the above document employs a sharing style of vehicles called a xe2x80x9cstation carxe2x80x9d, and provides a managing service in which the port is located, for example, near a railway station and the users are divided into a plurality of groups, for example, a group that utilizes the shared vehicles when going to the station from home and parks the vehicle at the port to go to user""s companies or schools using public transportation from the station, and a group that arrives at the station using public transportation and goes to user""s companies or schools from the port using the shared vehicle. In the technique described in the above publication, in order to improve the efficiency of use of each of the vehicles, users are divided into groups based on time zone for utilizing a vehicle and are registered as members so that the number of vehicles and the area for the parking space may be reduced when the members use the vehicles based on the time zone.
However, in the above mentioned vehicle managing system which realizes a shared use of vehicles by the members, for example, once a group of the members that uses the vehicles to go to companies or schools from the station for the last time in the morning time zone drives the vehicles to private places, such as a company or school, the rest of the groups can no longer utilize the vehicles. Similarly, after a group of the members that uses the vehicles to go home from the station for the last time in the evening time zone drives the vehicles home, the rest of the groups can no longer utilize the vehicles. Accordingly, in the above mentioned technique, problems exist in that only two groups of the members can share the use of vehicles in practice.
Also, if one of the members that uses the vehicle to go to the station from home for the first time in the morning time zone takes a day off, the vehicles at his/her home cannot be utilized for the entire day.
Moreover, since it is inevitable that each group of members will drive the vehicles to private spaces, such as at a company, school or home, a parking space must be provided at these private spaces. Accordingly, although the number of vehicles may be reduced by sharing the vehicles, extra space is required for providing the parking space, which may be considered to be a wasteful use of land.
The present invention takes into consideration the above-mentioned circumstances, and has as an object providing a vehicle managing system in which more than two groups of users can share the use of vehicles so that the vehicles are used efficiently, and the space required for parking area is decreased in total.
In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a vehicle managing system including a vehicle to be lent to a user and a plurality of ports used for parking the vehicle, wherein the plurality of ports include a first port (for instance, a port II 45 in an embodiment described later) which is located in the vicinity of a station of a public or private transportation facility (for instance, a station 41 in an embodiment described later), and a second port (for instance, a port I 44 in an embodiment described later) which is located in the vicinity of both a residential area (for instance, a residential area 42 in an embodiment described later) where a first user who uses the station resides and a place of destination (for instance, a company 43 in an embodiment described later) for a second user who uses the station.
According to the vehicle managing system described above, it becomes possible to avoid an occurrence of the situation where a user who last uses the vehicle brings the vehicle to his/her private place, and other users can use the vehicle any time. Thus, the efficiency in utilizing the shared vehicles is improved by parking all of the shared vehicles at public places. Also, areas that would have required as parking spaces in private places become unnecessary, and hence, land in private places may be used efficiently. Moreover, since no parking area is required for the private places, it becomes possible to lend the vehicles to all drivers including one who does not have a parking space, and hence, income may be increased according to the present invention.
In a second aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned vehicle managing system further includes a customer information storing unit (for instance, a customer controlling database 14 in an embodiment described later) in which a plurality of the first user and the second user, respectively, are divided into a plurality of groups and registered based on a direction of the vehicle between the first port and second port and a time zone using the vehicle, and a vehicle use controlling unit (for instance, step S11 through step S32 in an embodiment described later) which assigns the vehicle alternately to one of the plurality of groups that moves to the station and one of the plurality of groups that moves from the station, the plurality of groups being recorded in the customer information storing unit, based on the order of the time zone using the vehicle.
According to the vehicle managing system described above, it becomes possible to create a situation where a user drives a vehicle to a port for himself as well as for the next user so that the next user can utilize the vehicle from the port.
In a third aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned vehicle managing system is characterized by the vehicle use controlling unit that assigns a third user to a time zone in which neither the first user nor the second user uses the vehicles so that the third user uses the vehicle from an arbitrary port where the vehicle is parked.
According to the vehicle managing system described above, it becomes possible to acquire a new user using the arbitrary port where the vehicles are gathered and to efficiently utilize the system.
Also, according to the second and the third aspect of the present invention, the efficiency in utilizing the shared vehicles may be improved without the necessity in moving the vehicles to required places by workers of the vehicle managing system side. Also, increase in income may be expected due to increase in the number of trips made by each of the vehicles between the ports and the number of users at particular time zones.
Moreover, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the shared vehicles may be efficiently utilized even when a user of the system takes a rest, and hence, increase in income can be expected.
The present invention also provides a method for managing a vehicle used in a vehicle managing system including a vehicle to be lent to a user and a plurality of ports used for parking the vehicle, wherein the plurality of ports include a first port which is located in the vicinity of a station of a public or private transportation facility, and a second port which is located in the vicinity of both a residential area where a first user who uses the station resides and a place of destination for a second user who uses the station, the method comprising the steps of: registering a plurality of the first user and the second user by dividing the plurality of the first user and the second user, respectively, into a plurality of groups based on a direction of the vehicle between the first port and second port and a time zone using the vehicle, and assigning the vehicle alternately to one of the plurality of groups that moves to the station and one of the plurality of groups that moves from the station based on the order of the time zone using the vehicle.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, the method for managing a vehicle described above further includes a step of assigning a third user to a time zone in which neither the first user nor the second user uses the vehicles so that the third user uses the vehicle from an arbitrary port where the vehicle is parked.
Next, effect of embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail. According to the first aspect of the invention, for example, although a user moves between a port and a private space, such as at a home or a company, in a conventional system as shown in the upper half of FIG. 10, a user moves between the first port and the second port, etc. as shown in the lower half of FIG. 10 according to the vehicle managing system of an embodiment of the present invention. Accordingly, the vehicles are always available at the ports and the efficiency in sharing the use of the vehicles among the plurality of groups is increased.
Also, according to the embodiment of the present invention, all of the vehicles are parked at the ports, which are commonly used space, whereas the vehicles are parked at a private space, such as a company, school, or home of the users, in the conventional system. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 11A, in a combination of three residential area and three places of destination, although the total number of parking spaces of 18 (i.e., 3 combinationsxc3x97(3+3 vehicles)=18), for instance, is required for the private area side in the conventional system, only the total number of 9 parking spaces (i.e., 3 combinationsxc3x97(3 vehicles)=9) is required for the port I side according to the vehicle managing system of the present invention. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11B, even if one extra vehicle is provided with each of the ports, only twelve vehicles are necessary according to the embodiment of the present invention.
According to the second and third aspects of the present invention, the vehicles are always parked at the commonly used space, not at the private space as in the conventional system. Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, in a combination of three residential area and three places of destination, although the number of users that may be registered as members is 18 (i.e., 3 combinationsxc3x97(3+3 members)=18) in the conventional system, the number of the members may be increased to be 24 (i.e., 3 combinationsxc3x97(6+2 members)=9) by increasing users at a particular time zone, etc., according to the vehicle managing system of the present invention.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the vehicles are always parked at the commonly used space, not at the private space as in the conventional system. Accordingly, although a vehicle that cannot be utilized is generated in conventional systems when a user takes a rest as shown in FIG. 13A, users in the vicinity of an arbitrary port may efficiently use vehicles parked at the port according to the vehicle managing system of an embodiment of the present invention as shown in 13B.